Nothing the Washing Machine Can't Fix
by JackieWantsJamesL
Summary: OneParter fic. A scene extension of episode 420 when Nathan comes home all dirty from work.


**Title: Nothing the Washing Machine Can't Fix**

**Author:** Jackie

**Rating:** 1-2

**Warnings:** The baby name is used so if you're waiting until the season finale to find out wait until after the season finale to read this.

**Author's Note:** This is an extension on the scene in 420 after Nathan comes home from work. That scene was really powerful and I just wanted to write something about it. This isn't fantastic and I'm not in love with it. I wanted to do justice to the scene but I don't think I did. It came out just sort of fluffy rather than deep like I wanted it to be and it's not great, but I wrote it so I figured I'd post it anyways. I haven't written anything (fanfic wise) in over a year so this is just really rushed and mostly uninspired. I like to write things when I already have it all in my head and this one I only had bits in my head and let the rest just flow but ehh…it wasn't really flowing. I don't know. I don't like it much, (seems kind of pointless and overly simplistic) but maybe you guys will? I also ended up including a scene where they pick the baby name cuz I don't know if we're getting it in the finale or not. Originally the baby name had nothing to do with this it sort of just came out...which is why I think this is kind of all over the place. But oh well, let me know what you think. I'm fine with constructive criticism.

"_Till the sun finally sets in your heart, and it seems like, you're too young to die…" –Satchel "Isn't that Right"_

It startled her and didn't.

There he was sitting, his clothes dirty, his hair ruffled, his eyes tired looking back at her. She'd never seen him quite like this, but what scared her wasn't how he looked. It was what the look represented. Defeat. He'd just given up. And that scared her the most, because Nathan wasn't a quitter. He was a fighter, he was full of fire. Usually he was anyway, but life had been throwing him too many curveballs lately, and everyone gets tired of pushing back against life eventually, she supposed.

"Hey, hard day huh?" she tried to make her voice sound light as she walked towards him slowly, watching him untie the laces on his boots.

"It's ok Hales, it's just a dirty shirt. Nothing the washing machine can't fix. Although I probably shouldn't wear white from now on," he half smiled trying to joke as he stood up, boots in hand. "I'm gonna go shower ok?" he bent down to press a kiss to her forehead and walked away, leaving her standing there.

And she knew, she knew he didn't want her to see him like this. She knew he regretted it all, and he didn't want to admit that he hated it. His pride was hurt, but yet somehow he was actually handling it much better than she was. She just didn't want to believe, couldn't believe, that this was what he was going to do. Work in a factory? Not that it wasn't an honorable and honest way to make money, but it was no one's first choice, certainly not Nathan's, and certainly not hers for him. She wanted so much more for him, and she knew he wanted more for himself, but that he felt like he had to; for their family, for the money, and at least for the mean time. But despite all that she'd almost rather he be jobless then to come home looking defeated. That wasn't the Nathan she knew. Nathan Scott did not know the meaning of the word defeat.

Until now…

She knew he felt that way, and she knew that while yes he did need to shower, he also wanted to avoid her look. He could barely look her in the eye, and she was sure it was because he thought she was disappointed. And she was, but not in him. She wasn't disappointed in him for this. He admitted to his fault and was facing the consequences. That wasn't something to blame him for, despite the fact that he got into this mess in the first place. But she knew…she knew he never sought out Daunte, and she knew he'd gone to Dan first. She knew he was just a scared father-to-be who was trying to provide for his family and got wrapped up in the lies of a man who took advantage of him; the same man that almost killed her and their son. She placed her hand over her stomach and rubbed slowly, feeling the baby move towards where her hand was placed. And she couldn't help but smile softly.

-

He ran his hands through his hair and exhaled deeply letting the shower drench him entirely, allowing the hot water to hit his neck and shoulders as much as possible, letting the heat and pressure soothe his muscles. He felt numb inside. He was tired, exhausted even…and it was late. He'd spent almost the whole day out of the house, and he'd walked in immediately being hit with talk of dreams and how it was the time to achieve them. He couldn't blame Haley for that, he knew she was trying hard to write a good speech and what she was saying wasn't wrong. In fact, now really was the time for all of them, high school graduates, to start chasing after their goals and working towards them. But he'd screwed his up months ago. And he could face the consequences if it was just him. But he couldn't help but feel the guilt over the fact that his mistakes no longer affected only him. Now Haley and their son were paying for it too. Duke would have practically equaled one foot in the NBA. But now he could kiss the NBA goodbye, even if a school did pick him up, which clearly wasn't going to happen. And he knew the NBA would be hard to get into anyway, but if he at least had a shot he at least had a decent chance at providing a good life for Haley and their son.

But all of that was over now. He was 18 years old and he had no idea what he was going to do with his life. Even if he eventually made it to college, what would he study? Now his major choice wasn't just a backup, it was going to be his future. But none of that even mattered really, he didn't particularly care about that as much when he thought about disappointing Haley. That's all that he didn't want to do, but felt like he already had. The look in her eyes,…he knew Haley wasn't pitying him, but her eyes were sad. And he hated that. He hated that he'd made them that way.

A knock came to the door right before it opened and Haley's voice called to him, "Nathan, did you want anything in particular for dinner?"

"Did you not eat already?" he questioned concerned. It was late and they'd usually already had dinner by now. He hoped she hadn't waited for him to eat.

"Well yeah, but I was going to make something up for you if you wanted anything."

"It's ok Hales, I'll be fine, don't worry about me."

He answered her from within the shower, not popping his head out so she couldn't see his face, she paused before answering, "are you sure?"

He finally peeked his head out from behind the curtain, "yeah" he smiled at her, "I'm not that hungry."

She nodded somberly as she moved to close the door and exited the bathroom.

Not hungry? Yeah, Nathan was definitely not being himself, she thought.

-

Haley walked into their bedroom as Nathan was just about to sit at the foot of the bed, all set in his plaid PJ pants. He turned to look at the door as he heard her come in.

"Here, I brought you some coffee," she smiled, "you have to have something! Besides, this way I get to at least smell it since I can't have any."

He smiled, typical Haley, and took the mug from her, "thanks."

"So what's the factory like?" she asked sitting down behind him on the bed facing his bare back, since Nathan was facing forward.

He should have seen that coming he laughed to himself. "Basically you lift up steel beams all day. The epitome of heavy lifting," he shrugged, taking a large sip of his coffee.

She placed a hand on his shoulder for balance as she maneuvered as best she could, no easy task thanks to her pregnant body, to sit on her knees so that she could be a little higher up than Nathan. Once she was settled she took both her hands and began to massage his shoulders.

Not able to help himself Nathan closed his eyes and lifted his head, allowing himself to feel his wife's small hands smoothing over his skin.

"Did Skillz' dad say anything?" she prodded. She knew he wouldn't open up much about it unless she asked him because he didn't want to come off as complaining about the situation. But she was curious and wanted him to talk to her about it.

"You mean did he ask me anything?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Just asked me how the point shaving thing went down." He waited for her next question.

"What did you say?"

"That I was in over my head and screwed up multiple times," he sighed. "He asked me if I regretted it because I got caught. And I just told him that I didn't think half an hour should define the rest of my life."

"Nathan," she stalled her hands for a moment and wrapped her arms around his neck from her position behind him, "it won't. A school is going to want you I know it and if not you'll find something else to do. You're not going to be stuck at that factory for the rest of your life."

He half-smiled, "ever the optimist Haley," he took another drink of the coffee.

"Not in this case. I don't need to be an optimist to believe in you Nathan. I've always believed in you and I know you're going to make it through this."

"I know you've always believed in me that's just who you are Hales," he laughed dryly, "I mean look at this. You're the one who's pregnant and I'm the one getting the massage?" He stood up all of a sudden and she lost the balance she had because of her grip on him, causing her to wobble back a little, but luckily the bed was there to catch her. Nathan didn't notice this as he downed the rest of the coffee and placed the mug on the dresser. Walking back over to the bed he told her to sit however she felt most comfortable.

"Nathan?"

"Just do it Haley," he promptly quieted her questioning.

Heeding his request she pulled her legs out from under her and sat as comfortably as she could and then looked up at him expectantly. He sat behind her and used his fingers to push over the straps of her double-layered shirts, so that her shoulders were bare. His large hands, which pretty much overtook her shoulders, then began to massage. When she realized what he was doing she protested, "Oh Nathan you don't have to do that, honestly." She tried to turn around to face him but she wasn't overly successful.

Nathan let out a tiny laugh at her difficulty, slightly amused, "just let me do this ok Hales, I want to."

They stayed in silence for a few moments as Haley reveled in the relaxation of her muscles thanks to the handy work of her husband. He was always good at the massage thing. Her eyes were drifting closed as she quickly pulled them open as her mind reeled again and she just couldn't keep from saying anything else.

"Nathan, I know you think I'm disappointed in you." His hands slowed significantly, "but I'm not. I know you think you have to do this for our family but you don't. And I just…"

"It's good money Hales," he cut her off, "and maybe it's not the easiest job in the world but you know what they say…hard work builds character." The tone in his voice let her know that he wasn't just jesting, but being slightly self-deprecating.

"You've got plenty of character Nathan Scott, don't give me that," she slapped his knee which was within her reach. He couldn't help but chuckle a little. She always managed to make him smile somehow.

"Seriously Nathan I want you to know that I'm not disappointed in you and I don't blame you for any of this. I'm so proud of you. You turned yourself in when you didn't have to and you manned up and that is exactly the guy that I fell in love with and the kind of thing that makes a great father." She paused to take one of his hands and placed it on her stomach as she'd grown accustomed to doing a long time ago, "And I know the consequences seem harsh right now, but like I told you last night, we're going to be ok. You, me, and this little guy are going to be a family, and we're both going to provide for this family. And not through a café or a Steel Plant but through less physically taxing jobs. We're going to go to college and get degrees and make money, even if it's not a lot of it, we don't need it as long as we have each other. Call me a dreamer if you want but I don't think that idea is that far fetched."

Nathan let out a large breath and wrapped his other arm around Haley, joining his hands at the front of her belly. "How do you do it, Hales?"

"Do what?" she asked as she leaned back against his chest.

"How are you so full of life and happiness and always, always, capable of lifting the weight off my shoulders and making me feel like I'm worth a million bucks? You seriously make me feel important whenever I'm around you. It's one of the first things that made me fall in love with you."

She laughed lightly, relaxed in his arms, "I don't know I just believe I guess, in you, and in us."

"I believe in us too," he kissed her temple, "because only you make me want to say corny things like that," he hugged her tighter as he teased her.

She laughed a full laugh and the baby immediately kicked, Nathan feeling it just as quickly as Haley did as his hands were placed on her stomach.

"He agrees." Nathan mused.

"Yeah every time I'm trying to think of something good to put in my speech he starts kicking up a storm and won't let me concentrate. The little attention seeker," she patted her stomach as she watched Nathan's hands move in a circular pattern trying to calm down the baby, "he's clearly already taking after his daddy."

"Hey!"

She giggled, "Oh come on pretty boy, don't tell me you're not an attention seeker."

"I'm an attention getter Hales, I don't seek it out," he responded smartly.

"Right."

"And hey lately you've been 10 times more attention-needy than I have."

She sat up and twisted enough to look back at him, "I'm pregnant!"

He grinned, "I know."

She slapped at him realizing he was just teasing her, "whatever, I need to go shower myself now."

As she moved to try and get up he put his arms out to stall her, "wait, I wanted to run something by you."

"Ok," she looked at him waiting to hear what he was going to say.

"Today at work there was a break in the day and Skillz' dad was introducing me to some of the guys and stuff and they were asking me questions, you know, trying to get to know me. Obviously in telling them about myself you and the baby came up in conversation, and when I told them we knew we were having a boy they asked if we'd picked a name yet…"

"Yeah I know I keep flipping through that baby name book your mom got us but everything is just blah."

"Right, I know, well, I kind of ended up having my mind on it all day and I had an idea."

"Ok?"

"James."

"James…what?"

"What if we named him James?" He watched as her eyes understood now what he meant, "I mean, it's your original last name and that way he'll definitely have something of yours in him, and I hope he has a lot, but he's a boy and James is a boy's name and it's nothing that will make him the butt of name-calling jokes in the playground when he goes to school. It's a nice, contemporary name and hopefully when your parents come to visit it'll make them go easier on me for knocking up their daughter," he finished with a smirky smile.

She slapped his arm before leaning in to plant a kiss on his lips. After a few seconds she pulled away resting her forehead against his. "I think it's perfect. Thank you." She leaned in for another kiss.

"I'm glad you like it. And you can pick his middle name if you wanted him to have one, I mean."

"I actually already had thought of one," she smiled innocently at him. "Lucas?" she squeaked out hopefully. "I mean he's my best friend and your brother, and…James'…she smiled using the baby's newly earned name, uncle. And I just thought…"

"James Lucas Scott," he cut her off and smiled. "I love it Haley."

She clapped her hands excited and threw her arms around Nathan hugging him as closely to her as she could and he laughed at her excitement. Taking his face in her palms she pressed her lips to his and let go with a pop. "Mmm and I love you!...Ok I gotta go shower now though, seriously."

"Ok," he laughed and helped her stand. "Do you need any help?" he winked.

"No I'll be fine," she smirked back at him knowingly.

"Ok then I'll wait up," he told her as he sat back down on the bed.

"Ok" she told him as she started to walk towards the bathroom. "Oh and Nathan," she turned back around to face him just as he had sat back down on the bed and looked up at her calling his name, "I'm serious. You're not going to be at that factory forever. Your muscles are meant for more than that." She winked, "although you did look kinda hot in an odd way, all dirty and ruffled…" she laughed a little.

"You should see me in my hard hat," he said with tongue-in-cheek and she rolled her eyes shaking her head, even though she couldn't help but smile. When it came to flirting, Nathan Scott would always be quick with a comeback.

When she came back out to their room freshly showered and ready for bed she saw that he'd fallen asleep. But taking note of his pouty, sleep-filled face she couldn't blame him. She knew he was tired. As she got into bed she shut the bedside lamp and sunk down pulling the covers over her. She turned to her side facing Nathan and lifted her hand to run a finger through his hair, just watching the calm expression on his face and the rise and fall of his chest. "You were meant for amazing things Nathan Scott," she whispered to him.

And as she dropped her hand and began to close her eyes in an effort to fall asleep, she sent a silent prayer up to God that some opportunity would open up for Nathan soon.

For she knew he was far too young to let his fire die out.


End file.
